The Demopolis Public Library children’s librarian, Kelley Tarpley, graduated from The University of Alabama on Dec. 15 with a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Studies.

“I learned that most anything goes when it comes to planning programs for children and young adults. A library doesn’t always have to spend a lot of money to have fabulous programs. There are times when the best programs came from an idea that you developed while talking to other librarians,” Tarpley said.

Tarpley has worked as the children’s librarian at DPL for five years. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and brings teaching experience to her job at DPL.

“My favorite thing about being a librarian is being able to work with children and their parents,” Tarpley said. “I get a lot of satisfaction out of helping a parent find good literature for their children, as well as helping a struggling reader find a book that inspires them to read another book.”

This year Tarpley was the co-chair for the 2013 Alabama Public Library Service Summer Reading Program kick-off that was held on January 8, 2013 in Montgomery, Alabama. She presented at the program kick-off in 2012 and worked with almost 200 children’s librarians from across the state on using the Summer Reading Program Manuel. “It was a great honor to be recognized on the state level for striving to make the Summer Reading Program fun for all ages”, Tarpley said.

Tarpley is already preparing for the 2013 Summer Reading Program at DPL.

The theme for the Children’s 2013 Summer Reading Program is “Dig into Reading. This theme covers anything from pirates digging for treasure to paleontologist digging for dinosaur bones.

“I believe this theme will be great for boys and girls of all ages”, says Tarpley. “The Teen theme is “Beneath the Surface”. I hope the Demopolis Public Library will be able to implement an online SRP for the young adults. This is a work in progress and hopefully will come to fruition.”